No Longer On The Slow Path
by NearlyHeadlessNic
Summary: The Doctor is yet again lonely and missing the companionship of Rose, so the TARDIS steers off course to see an old friend...Post Doomsday.
1. Chapter 1

AN: My first Doctor Who fic. Post Doomsday. Just waiting to see what the reviews are like. I don't know whether to carry it on or not. You decide that. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own anything.

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Rose.

How could he forget her? She was utterly fantastic in every way, shape and form.

And that day he burnt up a sun just to say good bye. That day she spoke those words that melted his hearts and made him tearful. He would never forget that.

He remembered the first time they met. The Living Plastic were going to attack, to kill her. He saw her, just a glimpse as her rushed by and had his own attack. An attack of conscience. He couldn't just leave her there, her face full of fear. So he made the decision and grasped her hand.

"Run!" 

And she did.

That was that. Apart from a few questions and a bit of persuasion, she ran through the TARDIS doors and left her life in his. It was the beginning to a fantastic friendship.

Two years had passed since they said they're goodbye.

And now, well, now he couldn't even visit her, see her or even grasp her hand in times of trouble. He mourned his loss and did the same old thing, he travelled, alone, in his TARDIS. The last Time Lord.

He thought as he wondered around the control panel of the TARDIS, letting his hand stroke the many knobs, levers and buttons that he had gotten used to. She was on course, whirring quietly as time and space flew by outside.

All those planets, all the stars. They were nothing without having someone with him. No one to tell the history, no one to surprise with the culture, the architecture or the aliens. It was lonely. He was lonely. And only admitted it to himself. It was his biggest secret.

There was one person though, who knew this secret. A woman, back in the eighteenth century. It was only be accident that she found out.

Suddenly, the TARDIS shook. She was going off course. Drawn away from thought, The Doctor frantically pushed buttons and drew levers. But he couldn't stop it. He reached for his mallet that he had used many times before and bashed the control deck. It didn't help. She was hurtling through time and space and there was nothing he could do to control it.

"Where are we going?" He asked hurriedly, looking up at the tall column where the time vortex was moving, whilst hanging on with all his might to the handrail.

Then, it was calm. She had landed. But when and where, The Doctor didn't know. He anxiously glanced at the TARDIS doors.

"Where are we?" he asked himself, unsure whether to go and investigate like he and Rose did.

He walked slowly around the control panel, never taking his eyes off the doors. Wondering what is out there. He ran his hand through his brown hair. The temptation was killing him. The temptation to go and see where they had landed. The TARDIS came here, by herself, no co-ordinates, no telepathy and not by accident. She meant for him to find out, to see, to visit. He walked down the ramp and opened the door a little. Just to have a peek.

He was in a building. A grandly decorated room, with panels and sculpted wood. Like a state home, or a palace. He stepped out, his Converse on the tiled floor, and closed the door behind him.

It was then he heard footsteps, coming towards the room. They got louder as they got closer, but they sounded delicate, light, a pair of small feet. He turned as a lady entered the room. He recognised her instantly.

"Doctor?"

"Reinette?"


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to Jeme, xJasx and LetsDoTheTimeWarpAgain for reviewing and wanting another chapter.

Her heart raced as she saw the sight of the Doctor once more. It was him, really him. But yet she couldn't quite believe it. He left a year ago, promising to take her away. He went through the fireplace, the same fireplace she had met him all those years ago in the year seventeen hundred and twenty seven. She was only seven years old, now she was thirty-eight and getting old.

She had almost given up hope that the Doctor still reappear somewhere along the path of her life. He once told her not to listen to reason, but all reason was telling her was there was a slim chance he would come back.

"I cannot believe it's you."

It was true, she couldn't. He had once again stumbled along the course of her life.

The Doctor grinned, "Oh, it's me all right."

"I thought I was alone," Reinette said, tears pricking at the backs of her eyes, "Alone on the slow path."

The Doctor breathed and then took her and in his, "You once said to me you wanted to see the stars a little closer."

Reinette nodded meekly.

This was what the TARDIS wanted him to do. She knew he was lonely, she understood that he needed someone, and she travelled to the next best thing to Rose.

"Come with me." He said firmly and calmly, looking into her eyes.

He led her into the TARDIS, and The Doctor heard his new companion gasp behind him.

"H-how…how…how can that be?" She asked as she saw the size of the control deck, with the tall curved pillars that reached up to the ceiling and the grated floor that covered many circuits beneath her feet.

He smiled at her, "The wonders of science."

"But what is this place?" Reinette inquired, still glancing around the room.

"My good old TARDIS, the last one in the universe, and the greatest ship of them all." The Doctor explained proudly, "She can take you anywhere in time and space."

Reinette furrowed her eyebrows as she looked up and around the Doctor's machine, "How can it be light in here? There are no candles."

The Doctor smiled as he walked around the central control panel with the TARDIS reins. She was clever, very clever. "In the late 19th century, a man called Thomas Edison invented what was called a light bulb. Electricity that produced light." The Doctor went on, "But by that time, Edison was visited by one of my people and given a giant shove in the right direction to invent such a thing."

"Your people? The Time Lords?" Reinette asked intelligently, "That is what puzzles me, Doctor, it seems I have known for thirty one years since I was seven years old and yet, I do not know who you are." She commented, and went on, "You are The Doctor. You came when I needed your help all throughout my life. I know that you are a Time Lord, the last Time Lord to exist. I know the others died, in a horrific battle. I have seen inside your mind, but still I do not know who you, The Doctor are." Reinette walked up to the Doctor and looked straight into his eyes, "You are the Doctor, but Doctor who?"

The Doctor looked down at Reinette's eyes and saw that he needed to be truthful, "My people were in control of time and space for the whole universe, but as you said, they died fighting for their cause. Only I survived." The Doctor started with tears forming in his eyes, "I have been travelling ever since, never stopping to settle down. I go where help was needed. Like when you needed my help. Sometimes I have had people with me," He stopped as Rose's face floated to the surface of his mind. He walked backwards in thought of the woman he lov…he couldn't even say it in his mind. When he said those words, they should be to her, but that was impossible. He sat on the grated floor and put his head in his hands.

Reinette walked over gracefully to him and crouched beside him. Her 18th century dress inflating as she went down. She put a comforting hand on his arm, and he lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were glazed.

"Doctor?" She asked calmly, "What is it?"

The Doctor breathed and stood up swiftly. He rubbed his face with his hands and walked over to the control panel, "Nothing, nothing at all."

Reinette just stared, looking up at him from her crouched position. "There is one more thing that is puzzling me Doctor?" Reinette stood as she mustered the courage to ask this, "When you camethroughout my life, you never looked a day older, now it seems you do. Why is that?"

The Doctor sighed, "It has been a little over two years since I last saw you through your fireplace. Before that, it was barely a minute."

"Why so long?"

The Doctor turned and grinned like the Cheshire cat, "So, Reinette, where would you like to go?"


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews!

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"So, Reinette, where would you like to go?" He asked, with a grin on his face.

Reinette didn't answer. She just stood there. A moment ago, he was crouched, beside her, almost in tears, and now he was grinning at her. No, this wasn't right. Something had changed about him.

The Doctor was expecting a response, but received none. He scratched his head and furrowed his eyebrows. "Ok, let's go to the future. How far?"

Reinette still stared, silent. She was bemused, confused, puzzled.

The Doctor didn't really know what to do. He looked at her beautiful eyes staring back at him. He stopped grinning. "What?" He asked calmly.

"I don't know," Reinette replied, "You are different, it feels like you are putting on a smile to please me." She said composed, "Let me ask you this Doctor, why has it been over two years since I saw you? And why do you look so much older then two years to what you were when I saw you last?"

The Doctor sighed and turned around, leaning on the console, dipping his head down and closing his eyes.

"It's because of Rose." He said simply and quietly. He felt a rush of mourned feelings wave over him as he said her name out loud again.

Reinette walked over to him and place her hand upon his. "What happened to her?" She asked.

The Doctor sighed and bowed his head again, "We were separated, she is in another universe and it's almost impossible for me to get to her or see her ever again." His eyes began to water, "I love her, and she loves me too. But we cannot be together."

Reinette squeezed his hand, "I am sorry."

The Doctor stared down, his eyes closed as tears dripped down.

"How did she come to be in another universe?" Reinette inquired. She did not completely understand what was meant by 'another universe'. She did not understand that there was more then the Earth. But, she kept questioning anyway. Anything, to help her Doctor.

"We landed in a parallel world, Rose, Mickey and me." The Doctor explained, "Cybermen began to take over the world, but we stopped it. But Mickey decided to stay and help with the rest of the Cybermen factories." The Doctor breathed, and started again, "Later, me and Rose landed in London where she comes from, to see her Mum, but there were ghosts everywhere. Which happened to be Cybermen, who travelled through the Void via the fractures that the Daleks made."

Reinette nodded, not really understanding who the Cybermen or the Daleks or what the Void was, but she listened anyway.

The Doctor continued, "The Daleks had a prison ship with them, which contained millions of more Daleks. But I could reverse the breach and that sucked all the Daleks and the Cybermen in. Problem was, we would be sucked in by the Void too, since we travelled through it."

The Doctor sighed, remembering it, "She didn't want to go. I would open the breach but only on one side, I sent her to the other side, where she would be safe. But she came back." His tears formed again in his eyes, "She came back because she didn't want me to be alone, again."

"So we did it together, only opening the breach on one side, but one of the levers stopped. She reached for it and pulled it back. But she got sucked in."

The Doctor stood swiftly, startling Reinette. He turned and faced her, "Her Dad made one last trip though. He came, and caught her, just in time."

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Reinette said sympathetically, "I'm sorry you didn't get to say goodbye."

"I did though," The Doctor informed, "The breach took a couple of months to heal itself, the TARDIS found a gap, where I could lead Rose too and say my goodbyes. It was then she declared she loved me." The Doctor breathed and looked down at his converse, "But the gap closed before I could say I love you back."

The Doctor slumped on the sea in the control room as her face back in Bad Wolf Bay emerged on to the surface of his mind. Her tears that broke his hearts. Her voice that still echoed in his mind. Then, his own tears silently ran down his cheeks.

Reinette walked up next to him and took his hand as she crouched before him. "Doctor," She said calmly, "I have seen that in your world that all things are possible. Is there a chance you can reach Rose again?"

The Doctor shook his head and looked up around the TARDIS, his beloved machine. At times he could still hear Rose walking across the grated floor, still hear her laugh echoing up amongst the Time Vortex column. But something caught his eye. Something was flashing, on the screen above the console.

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows as he leant forward, "What's that?"

Reinette stood and looked in the direction that he was staring in. The Doctor stood and walked over to it. His eye widened with shock and his mouth dropped.

"How did-What-How-What-How?"

There, flashing on the monitor, were the words: BAD WOLF.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews. They make me smile.

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The Doctor stood, staring at those words.

"Bad wolf" He said to himself, mumbling the words. "Bad wolf," He repeated with realisation dawning on him. Suddenly he laughed out loud, "Ha! Bad Wolf!"

Reinette stood back, "Doctor, what's Bad Wolf?"

The Doctor didn't answer at first, he stood, with a grin as wide as the Cheshire Cat's, looking down at the screen. "Bad Wolf," He said again to himself, "I had forgotten all about it."

Quickly, he darted to the other side of the console, "Where are we?" He asked the TARDIS, "Ah, I understand now."

The Doctor swiftly took off his brown coat and hung it over the railings behind him. He looked up at Reinette, who gave him a puzzled look back.

"Reinette, you're going to have to get changed into some more suitable clothes." He said quickly, pointing to the door behind her, "Go, the TARDIS will guide you to the wardrobe."

"But Doctor, what's Bad Wolf?" Reinette asked again.

"I'll explain later." He replied and started to flick switches. Reinette stood there, expecting an answer but as the Doctor realised she was still waiting, he stood up and said, "Go, Reinette!"

Reinette disappeared into the back of the TARDIS, whilst the Doctor fiddled with levers, switched, buttons and even brought out his hammer to bash the control console to make it work right. He kept glancing up at the time vortex column as the TARDIS flew through time and space.

He also kept looking at the monitor in front of him. He couldn't quite believe it and checked whether it was just his mind playing tricks or not. But it was real, those words were connecting him and Rose once more. BAD WOLF. It was a message that they would once again find each other.

Reinette returned, changed into some more agile clothes. She now donned a pair of black suit trousers and a simple cream v-neck top.

"Will this do?" She asked, announcing her presence back into the control room of the TARDIS.

The Doctor turned and smiled, "First time you've worn trousers I take it?"

"Yes," Reinette answered as she fiddled with the waistline, "So, Doctor, what is the Bad Wolf?"

"It's Rose," The Doctor said bluntly, "she created the Bad Wolf, she is the Bad Wolf. Bad Wolf was a message she left herself throughout time and space. A message that led to me when I was in danger. She saved me because she absorbed the time vortex and disintegrated all the Daleks."

"The Daleks?" Reinette asked, "But weren't they there when you and Rose were separated by the Void?"

"Yes," The Doctor replied, "They have a knack for surviving everything I through at them."

The TARDIS whizzed on, flying through time and space, jumping time tracks as the Doctor kept at work. The words BAD WOLF still flashed on the monitor display.

"She's landing," The Doctor mumbled and stood back from the console.

"Where?" Reinette inquired, with one eye on the screen.

The Doctor grabbed his coat and pulled it on as the TARDIS smoothed its noise down and finally came to a halt. He walked straight out of the TARDIS doors. Reinette followed him and closed the door behind him. The first thing she noticed with the chill that swept across, then the sound of crashing waves. Reinette looked at her feet and saw sand.

The Doctor had walked further away but stopped, his face looking out onto the horizon.

"Where are we?" Reinette shouted across the sound of the waves and the wind.

"Norway," He answered, not looking round to face her, "Bad Wolf Bay."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it's so late. College started and everything...Hope this is ok!

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It was those words again, BAD WOLF, but it was a place a beach, in Norway.

Reinette walked forward towards the shore line, the waves crashing down in front of her as the nip of the wind made her skin tingle. She noticed the jagged rocks that protruded out of the sand. She came to the Doctor's side and took his hand.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Reinette asked and turned to look at the Doctor.

It was then she realised the tears falling freely yet silently down his cheeks. Her heart went out to him. He was the Doctor, lonelier then he had ever been before. Without his family or his home planet, he was left alone in the universe. But now, oh but now, he was empty because he no longer had his English Rose.

Reinette felt her and being squeezed ever so lightly, she immediately wrapped her arms around him and she felt his hands' gentle touch, so that it was almost unwillingly, on her back as he leant his head on her shoulder and wept.

It was coming here, to Bad Wolf Bay, which jerked his emotions into gear. It was so similar to what the TARDIS let him see through his eyes on that awful day. He called it Doomsday in his mind. The day he had to say goodbye.

Why did the TARDIS bring him here of all places? It took him to collect Reinette to ensure that he wouldn't be lonely again. So why would the TARDIS bring him here, to the place that would only make him feel more without Rose then ever.

Unless…the two trips by the TARDIS were connected…

The Doctor let go of the embrace and Reinette looked up at him. He had stopped crying, but his eyes were red and puffy, but his eyebrows were sort of frowning, as if they were in thought. Reinette furrowed her eyebrows, not sure of what the Doctor was about to do next, and stepped back a little.

"What?" She asked, slightly bewildered.

"It's the TARDIS," The Doctor said vaguely, not looking at Reinette, but looking out to the sea, "The TARDIS is doing something without me saying so." He continued and then turned to look at Reinette. "The TARDIS brought me to you, and then brought us here saying BAD WOLF." The Doctor turned and walked away swiftly, running his hands through his hair as he thought.

"But the Bad Wolf is Rose," Reinette intervened, "We are supposed to get to Rose by some means."

The Doctor swivelled on the spot and turned to see Reinette, and for the first time in what seemed a long while, he smiled genuinely, "That's it!" he said energetically, "the breach was closed and the last gap was here on Pete's world, which means this would be the weakest point." The Doctor thought out loud as he started to pace again, "But that would mean…no," He said and stopped on the spot, "…Yes! Nooo…" He began to pace again, leaving converse patterned foot prints along the sandy shore, "But…"

The Doctor ran, into the TARDIS, and Reinette followed.

"Doctor?" She called, as she ran through the doors, "What is it?"

The Doctor was at the controls, mallet in one hand and sonic screwdriver in the other. He was working so fast it was hard to pin down an actual verb to describe the motion. Hitting, fixing, flicking, working, controlling, sonic-ing, domineering, hammering, stroking, running…etc etc…

"Doctor?" Reinette asked again.

"You see, Bad Wolf is a sort of para-normal energy that is threaded throughout time and history and space and matter and all those things," The Doctor explained at like ninety miles an hour, "And there seems to be a large concentration on the energy here and if I can channel that energy, I can find a safe way to get to Rose and pull her back into this universe with the Bad Wolf protecting us."

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Ooo...now was that the ending you thought I'll leave you at... 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry about the wait – College is bogging me down with work to do. –sighs-

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Whilst the Doctor manically worked at the console, Reinette stood at the side slightly puzzled, "How would you do that though? Like you said, she can't come back because the void would fracture." She asked, trying to get the terminology right.

The Doctor, still working at his TARDIS, furrowed his eyebrows, "That would be the Bad Wolf, it should be powerful enough to protect me going through the void and to the other side." He replied, then looked up and grinned at Reinette as he pumped a device connected with the console.

"Just you?" Reinette questioned, "Not us both."

The Doctor looked at the screen and BAD WOLF disappeared and started to roll numbers across the screen. "It's building! Ha! It's working! Shouldn't be too long until I can get her."

Reinette smiled slightly, but then looked at the Doctor. "Aren't I coming with you?" She asked sincerely.

The Doctor breathed, and his expression went serious and somewhat blank. He walked defiantly over to her and held both her hands, "I'm afraid not. I'll be going through the void without the TARDIS around me. It needs to be here, centre of all control." He explained, "You're pure-blood human, and only travelled in time and space once, the Bad Wolf isn't strong enough to protect you."

The TARDIS made a noise, and the Doctor dropped her hands and rushed to look at the screen.

Reinette didn't move, but watched him with eager eyes.

"So why is the Bad Wolf strong enough to protect you?"

The Doctor sighed again, and then clarified her question, "Because I am a Time Lord. I have been travelling through time and space for god knows how long and have already been through the void. My body is used to it."

Reinette nodded as the Doctor went back to work. She didn't really know what to do. Why did the Doctor come to find her if all he was doing was finding Rose? She walked round the central column thinking. Was this really worth leaving behind France? Her life in Versailles?

She came up beside the Doctor, and looked over his shoulder at the screen his eyes was fixed at. Reinette couldn't help but smile, his glasses made him look so much younger. She remembered how he helped her, back when the monsters of her childhood nightmares came back to taunt her. All throughout her life, he was watching her, looking over her, protecting her. She would do anything to pay him back.

And so, if Rose was what he wanted, she'll help him – whatever it takes.

"Anything I can do to help?" She asked.

The Doctor straightened up and took off his glasses, "Yes, infact, as I said, the TARDIS needs to be centre of control, and to be here to pull me back, hopefully with Rose. But I need someone here too,"

The Doctor ducked and pulled something from underneath the TARDIS, a lead with an odd crystal ball at the end. Reinette furrowed her eyebrows as he passed it to her.

"This," He pointed to the crystal ball, "needs to go here," He indicated to a dip in the console where usually a silver beaded ball went, "When I shout place it there quickly. I'll be on the beach, at the place where there's a high density of the Bad Wolf energy."

The TARDIS made a high-pitched noise. The Doctor glanced down at the screen again, it was flashing red. "Alright, that means it's ready. I'll go out now."

The Doctor turned to go, but Reinette grabbed his arm, and pulled him into a hug, "Good luck," She whispered, and they let go of the embrace, "I hope you find her."

The Doctor smiled genuinely, thankful to Reinette for being here, and squeezed her hand, "Thank you."

He turned again and ran out the door to the beach. Once his face hit the crisp morning air, he reached for his Sonic Screwdriver and flipped it on. He wavered it about and it followed where it guided him. Eventually, he stopped, as the Sonic Screwdriver grew incredibly bright.

He felt her, just then, he closed his eyes and let himself be enclosed in the energy that surrounded him.

"NOW!"

Back in the TARDIS, Reinette quickly pushed the crystal ball into the console, praying that her Doctor would be ok.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Ok, ok, I am a very very bad person for not typing this up and giving it to you sooner!! I hope you all forgive me thinks whether cookies would be a good enough bribe

In my defence (which is weak and poor) I have been getting a lot of work from college and I actually really would like to do well in my A-levels so bear with me dearies. Also, seemed to not let me upload it for AGES...I don't know why...Have you gotten that problem too?

Anyway, I know this is short - but it is a vital little chapter - and I already have the next chapter planned in my head. Hurrah!

Enough of this long author's note...Enjoy!

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The Doctor felt his head being propelled backwards from a rush of energy. He stood, arms wide embracing the supernatural powers fleeting by. He closed his eyes, unsure of what was going to happen. All he could think of was Rose. 

Rose's smile, touch, scent, loyalty, compassion.

The feel of her hand being clasped by his and the scent of her hair when she hugged him tight.

The way she made the TARDIS hers as much as his, with the unfinished cup of tea sitting on the control deck, the mess of make-up in the bathroom or the increasing pile of washing up in the TARDIS sink.

Her untidiness matched his, they both thought that had better things to do then put the marmalade away in the cupboard after one had used it.

They were each other's equals.

The unusual pull and strength of the force around the Doctor began to weaken and his heartbeats quickened. Questions raced through his mind.

_Did it work? Am I on Pete's World? Did the Bad Wolf protect me?_

He felt the feelings in his fingers again, and then his arms, shoulders neck and the feeling carried n to pass through his body. He raised his head and opened his eyes to see the beach, except it was slightly different. The air smelt…saltier and the sea seemed greener.

The Doctor whipped round on the balls of his feet – only to see no TARDIS. He grinned. He was there. He had made it.

Now – which way to London?

XYZ

She sat there, at her desk, drumming her fingers. She was waiting for an e-mail from a man called Clive, who claims to have collected evidence on extra-terrestrial life. She knew he was a looney and it was this one e-mail that was keeping her at work and stopping her having a hot, long bath at home and going to bed.

She lent back on her desk chair and looked around the room. There were many other desks identical to hers around the room, each with their own computer and telephone for each one of her colleges. It was a bland room, she thought, considering the colourful and interesting stuff they deal with every day. It was something with baby blue, the colour was all over the tower, in every room, office, even the toilets. She didn't understand why, it was such a dismal colour.

She spotted the large clock which hung over most of the desks, it read half six. She sighed, she hoped she could have been gone long ago

It was then when it hit her.

Her breath began to catch and lung lungs felt they were collapsing inside her ribs. She gripped the edge of her desk for support and reached panically for her phone. Her eyes grew wider as the pain intensified. She pressed hard with the little might she had left on the Speed Dial 7 – her Dad's office. She just managed to say 'help' in an exasperated voice when she clapped a pendent around her neck and collapsed on the floor.

All that was heard at the end of the pone was a frantic, worried voice.

"Rose? Sweetheart? Are you there? Rose!"

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You know what to do...please...innocent and angellic face 


	8. Chapter 8

Hey - quick update. Don't you love me now? Eh? Eh? Read and enjoy...

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The Doctor's pulse quickened as he came out from the tube station near Canary Warf and he absent-mindedly ran his hand through his hair. As he walked he could feel her presence and feel her close. She was o near and yet so far.

He found Canary Warf easily; it wasn't exactly hard to miss the tallest building in London. It was his best bet. Torchwood Tower. That's where she said she would be working now, on the beach over two years ago. He had memorised those last few moments they had together – every word, syllable, tear.

How long had it been for her? What if she wasn't at Torchwood? Didn't work there because she had aged and retired or something?

The Doctor stood in the shadow of Canary Warf, thinking and looking around for any clue of what date it was. He guessed it was the first half of the twenty first century, but that could mean that Rose was either twenty or seventy.

It was an unusual scene. Not one that he Doctor was used. Many dressed up smart looking professionals and executives walked by, a laptop case in one hand and a cup of takeaway coffee in the other, many with a newspaper under there arm.

That's it! 

Why didn't he think of it before he didn't know. He ran to the bin which was situated next to a bench . e was in luck, there was a trashy tabloid. He read the date, most importantly the year.

November 12th 2010.

"Fantastic," he murmured o himself and looked back up at Canary Warf, seeing it with a completely different meaning now. It was a tower that he hated, for separating him and Rose, but now, it was a Tower of hope. That somewhere inside the many floors, there was his Rose Tyler, waiting to be taken to the starts once again.

The Doctor threw away the newspaper again and walked swiftly through the sweeping electronic doors and grinned happily at the receptionist, armed with his psychic paper.

"Hello there," The Doctor flashed a smile, along with his wallet, "My name is Doctor John Smith, I believe a certain Miss Rose Tyler is expecting me."

The receptionist didn't look up from her computer screen, "Sorry, Rose Tyler is currently unavailable," She answered tonelessly.

The Doctor frowned, "Could you tell me where I could reach her?"

"That's confidential,"

"Please, I'm an old friend who-,"

The Doctor was cut off.

"Doctor?" A voice behind him asked.

The Doctor spun on the balls of his feet to see a balding ginger man.

"Pete, whe-,"

But he was once again cut off.

"Follow me,"

Pete Tyler began to walk off in the opposite direction. The Doctor ran to catch him up.

"Pete, where's Rose?" He asked, anxious to know.

They walked briskly down a corridor. The Doctor didn't pay much attention to where he was going – he only wanted one thing.

"She became ill suddenly yesterday evening," Pete began to explain, leading the way, down a couple of flights of steps, "Maybe you could shed some light on the matter. She's in Torchwood Medical Unit," He said as they stopped outside a door which obviously the entrance to the department.

The Doctor walked forward, concerned and apprehensive to see Rose, but Pete took a step forward and blocked his path.

"You are going to take her back?" Pete asked, with all concern of a worried father, "Because she is lost without you."

"Yes," The Doctor replied truthfully and firmly, "Because with all of time and space, I am lost without her."

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You know what to do ;


	9. Chapter 9

Ooo...this chapter was possible the hardest to write. So many emotions! Read and enjoy!

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Pete nodded and led the Doctor straight through the door and into a ward. It was too clean, with cream walls and a lino leafy green floor, far too domestic for the Doctor's liking. It was much different to the medical room on board the TARDIS, which was cluttered and smaller.

The Doctor followed Pete obediently, not asking questions that his head was daring him to ask, to a side room where the blinds were drawn. He mind reeled full of thoughts he didn't want to think.

What if she was dying? What if she was unable to go back across the void? What if this will be the only time he will see her again?

Pete motioned for the Doctor to go into the side room, which stopped the Doctor in his tracks. He was so nervous, he put his shaking hands in his trench coat pocket to hide it from Pete. Were Time Lords supposed to get nervous?

The Doctor breathed himself to calm down as her placed a strong hand on the wooden beech door and pressed it forwards, so it swung slowly open. The beats of his hearts quickened in pace as he looked round to see a bed with what can only be described as a sleeping angel. His sleeping angel. His Rose.

He rushed up to her side and took hold of her hand and held it close to his cheek, feeling the warmth of her once more against him. Monitors around the room were bleeping, making sure she is stable and doesn't deteriorate. She had tubes and cables observing and examining her every heartbeat, every breath. The Doctor looked at her up and down, her skin looking pale, as she made no movement. Her eyes closed as she kept her pretty and distinctive brown eyes away from the harsh white light. She was lying in one of those narrow, uncomfortable hospital beds with a blue blanket wrapped round her to keep her warm.

"Oh Rose," The Doctor said to her, "What has happened to you?"

Pete spoke from the doorway from which he had been standing to leave The Doctor to have his moment, "We found her unconscious by her desk, it seemed she had some sort of fit and collapsed. The phone was off the hook as she called me, gasping for help and I got here as soon as I could." Pete paused and sighed. The Doctor turned to look at him, still holding Rose's delicate hand. Pete looked tired, exhausted even, "The Doctors can't determine what is wrong with her. She has been just lying there, in that state since we found her."

The Doctor turned back to Rose and his hearts melted. He tried to stop himself from welling up inside. He had that familiar knot in his throat, and had to swallow hard to make part of it disappear so he could speak.

"How long ago did she collapse?"

"About forty hours ago." Pete replied, looking at his helpless daughter.

The Doctor did the math and his head inclined ashamed. Tears formed in her closed eyes, willing their way through. It was his fault. He used the Bad Wolf energy to get through the void. She was the Bad Wolf. She was sick because of him. All of this was because The Doctor missed her too much, and now she was paying the consequences.

He once said to her that humans decay, they wither and they die. But never once had he expected it or even hoped for it to happen to her so soon.

He used her life energy; he had drained her from consciousness.

His hand reached out for her cheek, "Oh Rose, what have I done to you?"

Pete stepped forward, "This was you?" He asked.

The Doctor nodded, grimaced.

"Then you can fix whatever is wrong with her?" He questioned, hope in his voice.

The Doctor sat down at the side of the bed, not taking his eyes off of Rose's face nor his hand away from her cheek. "I have to, I came here to get her, and she can't go through the void in this state, she'd perish."

"What's happened to her?" Pete asked, who was now standing at the opposite side of the bed, "Why did this happen?"

The Doctor sighed, "It happened because of me, the way I travelled through to your world. I used the energy that Rose created on her travels with me. But because that energy originally derived from her, it effectively drained her." The Doctor looked from Rose to Pete, and then back to Rose, "God, what have I done to you?" He stroked her cheek affectionately.

Rose moaned softly and quietly.

The Doctor was startled, so much so the he jumped up. Did she just make a noise? The Doctor looked up at Pete, who was obviously as confused as the Doctor was.

Rose made a sound when the Doctor stroked her cheek. Did that connect them?

The Doctor had a look on one of the monitors; her heartbeat had risen slightly. She was feeling him touching her. Did that mean that if he stroked her cheek again would she stir?

The Doctor had a theory, and he was willing to test it.

He lightly placed his hand on her cheek and noticed a definite rise in her temperature. He stroked it gently.

Rose tilted her head towards the Doctor's hand and his hearts jumped.

"Oh my god," The Doctor mumbled.

"Can you revive her Doctor?" Pete inquired, eager to understand what was happening.

"I might,"

The Doctor sat once more on the side of her bed and placed both of his hands on both of her cheeks. He felt her rouse somewhat with just the feeling of both his hands. The Doctor swallowed, knowing full well what he was going to do, what he longed to do, what he though he was never able to do.

He lent down and pressed his lips against hers softly.

When he broke he lent back a little, but his face was still close to hers. Thoughts of eagerness and nervousness running round his mind. His heartbeats quickened when he felt even the slightly movement between his hands.

"…Doctor?"


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry it has been so long. hangs head in shame Hope you all forgive me. Just this and then a epilogue!

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"…Doctor?"

The Doctor felt relief rush through his body as Rose stirred in his hands.

"Rose," He started, tears forming in his eyes, "It's me, it's the Doctor, I'm here."

Slowly, her eyes opened and blinked as she regained focus.

"Doctor, where am I?" She asked sleepily and dazed.

Pete stepped forward from the door and up to her side and took her hand. "Sweetheart, you're in the Infirmary in Torchwood."

Rose tilted her head and her eyes found the familiar shape of her Dad.

"Hey Dad." She smiled.

Pete returned the smile and squeezed her hand, "Hey," He said back, "Look, I must go and phone your Mum. She'll want to know you have woken up." He squeezed her hand once more and left the room.

Rose tilted her head again so she faced the Doctor.

"How did you get here, you told me it was impossible." She asked, smiling weakly as the Doctor sat on the edge of her bed. "You told me that the universe would collapse,"

"I did say that didn't I?" The Doctor flashed his best grin at her, "Well being the genius that I am I found a way. Well, I say me, I mean the TARDIS found a way – she misses you."

Rose chuckled softly, he always talked about the TARDIS being alive and called it a 'she' often. "Alright then, she misses me. What about you? Have you -," Rose stopped, a lump forming in her throat.

The Doctor stopped smiling as his eyes, though reluctantly, watered, "Oh completely. Ever since the moment the breach closed with the void between us. My hearts sank as it became just a tall white wall, giving off no energy, just a cold wall."

Tears ran down Rose's cheeks, leaving a wet trail, "I've miss you too," She sobbed. Quickly, with every once of energy she regained since waking, she rose and threw her arms around him, embracing him close. "I can't believe it's you."

The Doctor held her, smelling the fruitiness of her hair, not quite believing he was there either, holding his Rose once against, against the odds of the universe and the fundamental rules of science.

"I know, but I am here now," he replied, withdrawing himself slightly from their long-awaited embrace just to look into her soft brown eyes, "I'm so sorry Rose, so sorry," he kissed the top of her head.

She looked up unsure of why her was apologising. He was here now, and that was all that mattered, they could be together.

"I came to take you back, for us to travel the stars once more."

"So why can't we?" Rose asked, confused, "You got here and you can take me back, take me home, right?"

"Rose," The Doctor began seriously, "You're ill -,"

"-and I'm getting better," She interrupted.

"No," The Doctor said firmly, "You collapsed because you're energy was drained," The Doctor paused and breathed, "by me."

Rose was still confused, "What?"

"When you absorbed the time vortex to save me from Satellite Five, the essence of your energy changed and became more then any human's energy ever should be. It mutated in what can only be described as Bad Wolf energy."

Rose gave him a look of bewilderment, "What's that got to do with anything with -?"

"I used that energy to get here. I concentrated it to get through the Void. It protected me. You protected me. Bad Wolf energy is all over the universe, in different times and places, more specifically the times and places we have visited and especially Bad Wolf Bay." The Doctor explained as simply as he could, it was a lot more scientific then he was letting on, but he knew Rose wouldn't be able to understand the spacio-temporal fundamental laws of the Time Lord meta-physical listings of science.

"What does it mean though? Why does that stop me from going home?" Rose questioned. The Doctor smiled inwardly, even though she was ill she wasn't afraid to ask about the reasons why the inevitable happens.

"The Bad Wolf is your energy, it's in you, it is you. But I harnessed the energy to protect me through the Void and to get here safely. I didn't come in the TARDIS. And now, because I am existing in your world, I'm still getting energy from you and making you unwell."

"But I feel better!" Rose insisted, "Like you are giving me energy and my health is improving."

The Doctor sighed, "Because I am close to you. But you're deteriorating. For you to recover I need to go back through the Void and give back the energy that I am taking on this world."

Rose began to sob as she realised the truth, "Can't you stay? Please? We could stay close to one another all the time, never parting. Like now, we're both here now, surviving."

"Rose, I'm sorry," The Doctor replied, tears falling now freely though silently down his cheeks, "But I can't."

"But why?"

The Doctor sighed again and looked at Rose. He raised his hand to her cheek and wiped away her tears. He brushed a single strand of hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.

"Do you remember anything when you absorbed the time vortex?" He asked softly.

Rose nodded, "Bits and pieces. I have dreams about it. I'm not sure whether they are real flashbacks or not."

"You said you saw all of time and space. All that ever was, all that ever is, and all that they ever could be. That you couldn't let go of it." The Doctor recalled.

Rose felt something twig in her memory; she remembered a glowing light, a sense of strength and enormous power. The whole of time and space running through her head.

The Doctor continued, "That's what I see all the time, and even though it drives me absolutely barking mad," The Doctor smiled at Rose weakly, "I can't let go of that. It is what makes me who I am, a Time Lord. The Last Time Lord."

Rose looked up at him, "But how come you can't see that now?"

"This is a parallel universe." The Doctor said sadly. "I can't function with diesel, which is all that is available here. I need petrol, back where you were born, where the TARDIS is, where we both should be." The Doctor pulled Rose into an embrace as she began to cry, "I'm so sorry, Rose, and I wish there could be another way."

They held each other for a while. It was just them, and then that was all that mattered.

"Rose," The Doctor said, after what seemed to be some time, "There's something I have to say to you."

Rose leant back, "What, Doctor?"

"Rose, I have been waiting to say this for a long time. Even when you were travelling with me, after we defeated every single alien threat that got in our way, and then the impossible happened."

The Doctor stopped realising a large lump in his throat, which he quickly swallowed away.

"I thought," The Doctor breathed, "I thought that I would never get the chance to say this to you. I never actually thought there was a possibility to see you again."

The Doctor swallowed again.

"But, now that I am here," The Doctor breathed and mustered up some courage, looking into her eyes again, "Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, I love you." He smiled, happy to say it, "I love you, always have and always will. And I will certainly never ever forgive you."

Rushed with unfamiliar emotions, The Doctor lent in and kissed the love of his life. A kissed which was very well received.

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You know what to do. ; Cookies for people who review! 


	11. Epilogue

So here it is... Sorry it's been such a looooong time for me to finally get to the end of this fic. BIG, HUGE thankyous to EVERYONE who reviewed. Seriously, they kept me going...big fairtrade cookies for you all.

Anyway, the epilogue. Please review!

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The Doctor leant on the central console of the TARDIS. It had been a long time since he last saw Rose, but not a day passed in which he did not think of her. Sometimes it's a smile from someone he helped that reminded him of the times when Rose would smile at him. Sometimes it was a sense of too much space in the TARDIS, even though the Doctor wanted, from now on, to be alone, he missed the presence of another being on board.

Rose said something to him, just as he was beginning to leave. Her tear stricken face looks up at him as he donned his long brown trench coat. The words still echoed in his mind.

"_Find someone, for me. I don't want you to be alone."_

"_There's no one who could replace you."_

"_Well of course, no one could replace me. But I don't want you to be lonely. Promise you will find someone. You need it more then you think."_

"_You know what, a noble bride once said that to me too. I promise I will find someone, for you."_

When The Doctor returned to his own universe, after travelling across Europe and across the Void, he entered his TARDIS to find Reinette standing there, eagerly awaiting the news. He told her that Rose couldn't come through, his eyes watering as they sat on the seats in the console room of the TARDIS. Reinette held his hand, squeezing it every now and again in support. He told Reinette of Rose's request, and then it dawned on him. He asked Reinette whether she would like to travel along side of him. She kindly accepted.

But it wasn't as easy as that.

The era in which Reinette was from wasn't at ease with the possibility of aliens and space ships. Especially the running away from aliens and most certain death. She began to tire and miss Versailles.

Not many of the Doctor's companions leave by their own accord, but Reinette did. He told her that he would come again, visit her when he had the time. But he knew deep down that he would never re-visit his past.

It was after he dropped Reinette off home that he wondered the many corridors of the TARDIS. He did it from time to time without really noticing that he was doing it He wondered past Rose's old room, opening the door ever so slightly just to get a glimpse of what was inside It hadn't changed, obviously. The TARDIS kept it the way the Doctor wanted, as if she was still on board. She roaming around somewhere, not doing the washing up.

The Doctor smiled to himself, happily remembering Rose's arguments to get out of doing the washing up, always claiming that it was the Doctor who got marmalade everywhere and therefore he should do it, or she would claim that saving the world was more important then the cleanliness of the dishes, especially as they eat out most of the time.

He began to wonder again with the TARDIS making the corridors lengthen and twist and turn. Occasionally the odd door would appear and the Doctor would pause wondering whether a trip to the sunroom, the bar, the library, the cinema would help. But he didn't stop. He just shoved his hands further in his pockets and kept on moving. It was only when he arrived at one door did he pause and go in.

The wardrobe.

He realised that he had been wearing his brown suit a bit too long, although fond of it. It was time for something new.

So, there he was, he Doctor, leaning against the edge of the console in the main centre of the TARDIS, sporting a new blue suit with a new pair of red Converse. He wasn't too sure about it but his old pinstriped brown suit was still hung up in the wardrobe next to his battered leather jacket of his ninth reincarnation, just in case something happened to the attire.

A sound was made from the TARDIS and it jolted. The engines fired up of their own accord. The Doctor was dragged unwillingly from his thoughts as he turned and started to analyse the situation.

"Rose, get here quick!" He shouted absentmindedly. He frowned at his own stupidity for yelling it afterwards. She wasn't going to come – she was on a parallel universe because of him.

Shaking off his anger and concentrating at the task in hand as the TARDIS whirled through Time Tracks with an unknown destination to the Doctor ahead.

"Where are we going?" He shouted up at the TARDIS, swinging the monitor screen which only a while ago gave him a message so he could visit Rose. "London?" He asked it incredulously. He read the monitor some more, which had scrambled notes written in Gallifreyian, "Extra static fields? Royal Hope Hospital by the Thames?"

The Doctor sighed, "Oh all right then, let's go."

He pulled the handbrake and the TARDIS jerked forwards.

"Let's go see what we can find."


End file.
